Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1887-06-28
THE GLASS GRAFTON.

able effort ana the theme, Inc OIBanAAeo
Work of Educated Men," is live, timely
and fruitful topic. The speaker in opening
touched upon "the scholar in politics" Re
cognizing that the scholar as such is not apt
to NEEDLE much with politics and that when
he does instead of stemmlng the tide he is
too often swept along with it, and fails to
make any decided reform, and retires dis
gusted and with dirty skirts to the seclusion
of his library, the speaker aptly remarked
that 'fpolitics is the daily life of state
which can only be studied by contact with
the throbbing pulse of social conditions.
The speaker now touched upon the nub of
his address by recommending organized effort
by the educated instead of isolated attempts
at reform resulting in failure, and added: II
am under the deepest conviction that the
times demand of every college graduate that
he shall take cognizance of his political du-
ties and share in the social struggles of the
day."
Gas we face the world OF affairs we are
beWildered at the evolutions of industrial So
ciety Not only are political faiths shaken
and intellectual beliefs overthrown, but vast
changes are going on in the character of civ
liza ton which bring us face to face with
new and intricate problems. The concentra-
ton of capital and labor has thrown into the
foreground that principle of association
which is Transforming the face of society and
from the crumbling arches of old political
systems is rearing the gigantic walls of social
democracy.
0The world now, with the whirligig of
time, brings new questions to be faced. De-
mocracy and universal suffrage are
on trial and have brought q
multitude of forces whose direction
and momentum are unknown, including la.
Dor problems which have revolutionized in
.s~I, = IN
undermine.our institutions"
The speaker here cautioned his classmates
against innocuous desuetude, against apathy
and sloth, and babe them not fold their
hands because others have failed. He ad-
mitted that liberal culture is charged with
resting too strongly on mere theorlzlng as
means to cure distemper of the body polite.
"What the man of culture needs to become
practical as well as cultured is action, appll-
cation. He occupies a high vantage ground
from which to survey the situation. He enters
the world free from influences which place
men in ruts; free to think in any direction
and able to distinguish the true from the
false. The voice of one man who speaks the
truth is better than the shouts of thousands
who proclaim an error. True scholarship
will always remain liberal and broad.
FfCarlyle has somewhere said: All that
university or final highest school can do for
us is still what the first school began doing
teach US to read Yes, but it can teach US
to read not alone books. but humanity-to
become not merely scholars of a dead past,
but students of living men. Within these
lines will lie the factors of success. A recent
lecturer at Jena said: THE nationality of the
Greeks declined from the moment when
the philosephically cultivated separated
themselves from the mass of the people. '"
Thia was equally true in the world of to-day,
and the obvious lesson should be needed.
The speaker clinched this point by adding:
eve have only exchanged the tyranny of
man for the tyranny of men since the divi-
sion of political privilege into small units
has simply strengthened the power of any
shrewd demagogue who is able to unite the
greatest number of these units into a single
mass. The result is perceived when good
men attend their party caucus"
The evil lies in organized ignorance. The
voting power of Ignorance is SO great
that over seven per cent. of our voters can
neither read nor write, while our
naturalization laws, standing as the
guardians of American socialism, yearly add
discomfort to this class of our citizens. Stat
ute interference is of no avail, for it Is on the
| social side that the evil begins, and there
| the remedy must be applied. Political
equality has made social Inequality all the
harder to bear, and we apt to forget the
truth of that saying that &c Where two ride OF
| horse one must ride behind" While the
| eight-hour movement may not prove labor
Il
i wrong it does prove that somewhere there is
a general, and who knows but reason
| able, discontent which refusal to face
| can never cure. It is doubtless true
| that the ballot in their hands is
| less dangerous than a sense of wrong in theil
| heads, but even the ballot may prove most
| dangerous remedy if the hands that WELD il
| be unframed to its use. If you neglect your
| opportunities to raise society from the bot
| tom, YOU may be sure that others will pull il
/ down from the top. What the SO called
| working classes need is just what you possess
education. Not an education in music Oh
| poetry which might be the amusement Of
| their leisure hours, if they had such; but ar
education that will enable them to do some
Thing and think something-that will helr
them to stand on their feet and walk alone
/ The speaker cited in illustration the self
| sacrificing Toynbee, saying:
In the east end OF f a n
| where, if anywhere, are bred the germs of socia
disorders, stands Toynbee Hail. 1t was founded 4 .;
| Young Oxford graduates in commemoration OF Pro
| fessor Arnold Toynbee for the purpose OF provnl
what university men can accomplish Tor industra
body Of workingmen in the course of which he con
5ha for the dseontent among the Worn
class and said finally that the evil would not com
e aa enH to die for His doabiy fra
by his devotion to this work yielded to the strait
life. Yet the principles he taught have survives
and taken practical form in this university settle
| and law, informal discussions take place on tn
great questions of the hour and by contac. with tt
| made to broaden the mental horizon of both class
| es. These reciprocal benefits which society i
| beginning to realize, for the work has just fount
another exponent in the peoples palace, prophesiet
| in Alton Locke and built into solid fact through
| the efforts of Walter Besant.
Men must be taught that capital is labo
rewarded, not labor defrauded, that if they
| pull fabric of government to pieces they arr
| prepared to build better, that if they over
turn existing society they can create from it,
ashes nobler civilization. And is not this
work well worthy of your best efforts in tina
immediate future when the weakness of you
| own position may prove the bond of brother
hood to be a public as we'll as Christian
one. I recognize the practical objection t.
it, the difficulty of providing
method to fill all cases and of laying down
exact rules that each of US, il
| active operation. But once make the trial
and when face to face with the misery an6
wrong you know to exist, you will of neces
| sity discover means beyond your presen
vision. At first the results would be smal
| and the discouragements many. You vii
| have to deal with problems complicated b.
human passions and perpetually changed b.
self interest. The difficulty of persuadin
Workingmen to act upon anything that doe
not directly concern their pleasure or thei
profit, is very great. But If democracy
not to end in political degradation the effol
| must be made
AS all mankind have been brought int
one organization by commerce and civilizs
ton, so their association has given birth
that new spirit which is everywhere maxim
men conscious of their brotherhood. Tn
backbone of socialism is not anarchy, bu
humanity Every individual right contain
from the first a social element, and it re
l nd of fO 0-nn6fat
to advance the interests of society than
seize the chances of self-aggrandizement Blu
even in this age of lofty ideals and nobl
conceptions of duty, we have yet to lear
that we never discharge our duties to our
selves when we neglect the duties we owe
society.
The Glass Poem.
William Mccormick of Harrisburg, Pa.